The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1887-08-25
. 4 BEAUTIFUL COUNTY.
A LAND OF SURPRISING FERTILE
TN AND GRAND SCENERY.
ii q" Want to Live in the Mountains
HAYWOOD Is Il Good County: 1t is A l>a
il Pleasant summer Resort.
Editorial Correspondeucel

AayncsVlile Is the county seat OF HAYWOOD
county, which was formed in 1903 from
Bancombe and named in honor Of John
Haywood, who WAS from 1877 to 1927
Treasurer of North Carolina. The county
contains 40 square miles, or 70, 302 acres
The county is hemmed in on all sides by
high mountain chains of 3, 900, 5000 and
6,tU0 feet and more above the sea The
Rlsgah range skirts it partly on the East,
eliminating in the pyramida cone of Pts
gan mountain rising to the height of ), 100
feet. This rangc, interrupted by depres-
sion of several miles is continued bv the
New Found range extended to the Tennes-
see line. a spur or range projects north
| ward between the East aud West Forks of
Pigeon River, the highest peak of which is
t-o.d Mountain, rising TO the height of
6,O6i feet. Along the western border ex-
tends the massive line Of the Balsam Noun
talns, IN this county attaining their high
est elevation. Here are fifteen peaks of
more than G. 000 feet il height. Richland
/ Balsam is 6, $50 feet. Its TERRITORY is broken
and rugged; yet there are considerable
tracts of open lands along lie water cour-
seS
Col. John il. Cameron, who knows more
perhaps, than any other journalist in the
State about the county, says that the val
! ley system III the county is no less remark
able than that of the mountains The
most important Of these valleys are those
which lie along The Pigeon River, and on
ITS TWO main tributaries, the East and Vest
Forks. These extend TO the head waters
Of those streams, and are from a quarter
to mile and a half in width, OF great
beauty and surprising fertility, producing
abundantiy wheat, corn, rye. and oats.
clover aud all the grasses. They are held
at high value, The prices being from SO
to 500 an acre After the junction of the
East and " est Forks the united streams
flow northward through the same broad
valley until It enters the Smoky Mountains
and is then contracted into ii narrow gorge
OF canyon, ana passes out OF the State of
North Carolina in bold, tumultuous
stream Col. Cameron puts it down as re-
narkable that this river has its whole
length III North Carolina within the county
of Haywood.
BESIDES TINS river and the fertile lands
lying on either side of it there are many
streams OF considerable volume in the
county. The Richland Creek, which flows
by Waynesville and the Sulphur Springs
cannot be surpassed III the mountains.
can picture no scene OF more real happi-
ness than i, walk along the banks Of the
stream until a messy seat is reached, and
there, with book in hand, read TO the music
of the waters ripping over the bed OF
rocks. 1t is music of the softest and most
soothing kind. The gentle blowing of the
wind, the singing of birds, the whistling
of plowEen in the adjacent fields combine
to make it an ideal place.
The mountain lands in this county are
fertile These lands are the natural homes
of the grasses. This ought to be Il great
stock kraisins country. Every needed thing
to make it profitable, is here, ana wa,
surprised that more attention was not paiG
: to the raising and selling of cattle | un
derstand that this industry is growing
, and that the stock is being yearly improv
ed. Ashevlle buys much of the beef con
? sumed there from East Tennessee. Hay
! wood county ought TO furnish much of it
, and will do it after awhile.
, Two or three years ago the high price
t Of tobacco induced many of the Haywood
6 county farmers to 60 into the cultivation
: of tobacco. The first year they made money
t Since then many OF them have lost none,
: because of the low prices, and the inferior
ity of the weed Haywood county soil vii
: produce the brightest tobacco if given th,
Y proper care and attention, but the farmer
: will lose if they make inferior tobacco
Four years ago prominent citizen o
Waynesville told me that he deGed an
5 one to find mortgage on the growing
crops of Haywood county Ehe farmer
: were making their own supplies and liv
= ing economically When they began t
. raise tobacco they neglected to make thei
d supplies. They therefore mortgaged thei
t crops to merchants to run" them. Th
consequence is that they are still in debt
@ While the farmers probably live as well a
e ever and in the matter of comforts an
|. conveniences, probably better, they ar
: less independent than formerly by reaso
d Of the fact that they have given mortga
J. ges 4 mortgaged man is always in som
IS sense a slave.
/ This is famous fruit county. There
+ no good reason why people in Raleigh an
/. Wilmington should not eat Haywood coul
IS ty apples And there is no good reaso
IL why Haywood county should not rails
~ enough to supply the consumption in all tt
k Eastern counties.
y There has come no great boom to Wayne
lG II; vile from the completion Of the railroa
* /. to this place. The town has grown, an
Is grown steadily since | first visited it fot
years ago. Then there was not a brio
., store in the place; now there are nun
ber of them, large and handsome. Bus
os ness has increased in steady and mode
90 ate way, but not as much as the people c
pected. They looked for the railroad
. do more than they had a right to expect
a and some of them have been disappointe
r. The price of land has not increased fab